Oh, me! Oh my, Ella!

Robin looked like a racoon that made her way out of our trashcan’s and into our living room.

She wasn’t wearing her typical seven layers, but instead a torn black dress that loosely fell off her shoulders and a wrinkled plaid scarf that wrapped twic around her neck.
Her eyes were pink and puffy from crying and two dark symmetrical lines ran down her cheeks and above her eyelids, as her mascara rubbed onto other places that her eyes.
Her hair was pulled up in a pony-tale holder, in frizzy scarlet curls.
And her hands were tucked into her legs, as she shook slighty back and forth.

“What’s wrong, Robin?” Zach asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
She pushed him away, clearly not wanting to be touched.
Zach and I glanced down at the floor, waiting for Robin to find her voice.

“I...” She began, but stopped to wipe her nose on the rim of her sleeve. “Geno called asking me to a party, and I thought “sure, if anything I could get more candy and possibly a drink out of it.” But then, things got wierd and he asked me if we could hang out, alone. I didn’t know what to think...” She paused again, and raised her hands, covering her face. “So, I went, and then...Oh god.” She said, and then started to shake again.

Zach shot me a worried glance from the other side of the couch.
I put my hand on her arm, gently, trying to comfort her. “And then what?” I asked.

“He raped me.”

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Now, all three of us were just staring into the blank television screen.
I had never thought it was possible for something like this to happen to Robin. She had a strong spirit. I would’ve guessed that she would’ve stabbed him and then ran off into the night, before Geno was even able to lay a finger on her. She used to kick and throw woodchips at the boys who teased me, when we were younger. I don’t know why, but I’ve always thought of her as invincible…
But then again, this was the perfect example to show that you never know what life’s going to throw at you.

I moved my eyes away from the t.v., to look at the other two. Robin was still staring ahead of her with a blank expression, but Zach’s face with wrinkled up in anger.
“I’ll kill him.” he said, breaking the silence.

The crazy thing is I knew he wasn’t lying. He watches so much c.s.i. that I assume he knows a few ways to kill someone and get away with it. Did you know that if you kill someone in the high-northern states during the winter, you could hide their body in the frozen lakes, and the fish would eat them alive by the time summer came around?
I didn’t. Zach did. I serve my point.
The look on Zach’s face told me he wanted to drive Geno up to lake michigan, now.

Robin shook her head. “No.” she replied.
Zach looked at her in surprise. “What do you mean? This guy took advantage of you.”
“No..” She said again, and got up from the couch. “I’ll just move on from it. The best thing I can do is be a good example for others.”
I shook my head in understanding and stood up to hug her.

Robin is a lot stronger than I will ever be.